Virgil van Dijk reaffirmed his place as one of the best centre-backs in the game after playing a key role in his fourth and Liverpool’s 20th league title win.
The Dutchman played more minutes than any Liverpool player bar Mohamed Salah across all competitions during the 2024/25 season — the fourth season in a row in which he has racked up over 3,500 minutes.
He started and captained the team in all but two games across the Premier League and Champions League, in what was another season of consistent excellence.
VIRGIL VAN DIJK, 2024/25
Started: 49 (All competitions)
On as a substitute: 0
Unused sub: 3
Goals: 5
Assists: 1
Overall Season Rating: 9.4
Leadership on and off the pitch
It is strange to think that the captain’s armband is relatively new to Van Dijk.
He has only been Liverpool captain for two seasons, but his natural comfort and effectiveness in the role make it feel like he has held the status for much longer.
His calm but authoritative leadership qualities helped Liverpool end the 2024/25 season with success, providing a continuation of leadership on the pitch even though there were changes off it.
As a new manager arrived in the shape of his compatriot Arne Slot, and a new coaching team with him, Van Dijk and other players who had been around since the title-winning Jurgen Klopp side played an important role.
Given the frequency with which Van Dijk speaks to the media as captain, you don’t hear that much from him in the sensationalist world of content and comment.
There are rarely any controversies or missteps, on or off the pitch.
Partnership with Ibrahima Konate flourished
Van Dijk and Konate are one of the game’s ideal centre-back partnerships.
The Dutchman’s leadership and all-round ability to win duels, cover in behind and spray passes from the back combine well with the more proactive Konate’s pace, front-foot defending and anticipation.
As Konate steps out in an attempt to stop attacks before they really get going, Van Dijk hangs back to cover if needed.
Van Dijk can also do the Konate thing on his favoured left side of the defensive pair when required, but at his age, he prefers the more reactive side of defending, using his experience to wait and then second-guess attackers in key moments.
The team can look lost without Van Dijk. They don’t just miss his footballing ability but his organisational skills too. They lost both of the games he didn’t start in the two main competitions.
If some of Van Dijk’s organisational skills can be picked up by Konate in the coming season, the Frenchman could be the successor to Van Dijk and make his new contract a no-brainer.
Luckily for Liverpool, they should get to experience this elite pairing at the heart of the defence once again in the 2025/26 season.
Virgil van Dijk’s legacy as one of the greatest-ever
Van Dijk turns 34 years old this summer and as he reaches the twilight of his career, the question of his legacy, not just at Liverpool but in football as a whole, will come increasingly into focus.
The discussion around Van Dijk isn’t just about whether he is one of the world’s best centre-backs in recent times – he is undoubtedly the best of his era – it is more a question of how high he ranks on a list of the greatest centre-backs ever.
The romantic choice turns to the Italians and then to the genius of all-rounder Franz Beckenbauer, but for the demands of a top team in the modern game, its high lines which expose defenders and its one-versus-one challenges, there have been none better than Van Dijk.
When it comes to making a case for the Dutchman in the grand scheme of things, his latest Premier League win gives him more backup in the trophy department, something he lacks compared to some of those players who came through at dominant European powerhouses that were regularly winning titles already.
It is unfair that Van Dijk’s seasons with teams like Celtic and Southampton count against him when judging his place in the pantheon of great centre-backs.
Such progress at different levels of the game is surely more challenging than having always played for a top-level club with other world-class players. It should count in his favour when judging his entire career, not take away from it.
The 2024/25 season raised Van Dijk’s overall status in the game and added another trophy-winning season at the top level, making it two league titles with Celtic and two with Liverpool.
Like his first for Liverpool, it was another historic league win and not an easy one. The first ended the 30-year drought, while the second came when no one had given Liverpool a chance amid a managerial transition from Klopp to Slot.
Without the leadership and quality of Van Dijk, Liverpool likely don’t lift those titles.
Best moment: A winning goal against West Ham in April – and lifting the Premier League trophy!
Worst moment: Struggled to contain Beto against Everton in the Merseyside derby.
Role next season: More of the same, please!
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